Phantom 3 Standard Camera works fine, takes pictures but will not gimbal after minor crash in bushes.

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I am new at asking for help so tell me if I am doing this wrong. My Phantom 3 Standard has always flown and responded to all commands flawlessly until this minor crash. The camera will not move when powering drone but shows what it is looking at and takes pictures of same. Yard arm is not broken. Drone lights blink yellow when power on but motors not running; flash green when engines running, shows8 to 10 sattilites, GPS; ready for Takeoff. Flies fine; all controls work; no response to gimble calibration. Set screw between motor and camera tight against flat side of shaft; can gimbal manually by turning gimbal motor with finger. Two ant wires conected and look good and as is the large grey ribbon wre. Any help anyone can give me of where to start trouble shooting and parts likely to need replacing to make gimbal operate as it normally has in the past will be greatly aPPRECIATED. DON. (94 yrs old but still have a little sense!).
 
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Congratulations on making it to 94! Most gimble problems after minor crash or even hard landing is the camera ribbon cable. Watch YouTube videos for instructions to replace and be sure to only use original oem cable. Aftermarket that say "for dji phantom" will not work most of the time. Good luck and hope you are back in the skies soon.
PS, make sure cable connections have just not come loose.
 
I had my gimbal go limp. It was a gradual process and there was no crash - it just gradually failed. I tried replacing my ribbon cable 3 times (one was an original OEM one without any luck). I ended up buying a whole new camera/gimbal assembly off eBay.

As Capt KO says, the first and cheapest solution is to try the ribbon cable after you have checked connections. If that doesn’t work then you may be looking at replacing the whole assembly as I had to do unless you want to try replacing part by part until you find the failed part.

Good luck.

Chris
 
I had my gimbal go limp. It was a gradual process and there was no crash - it just gradually failed. I tried replacing my ribbon cable 3 times (one was an original OEM one without any luck). I ended up buying a whole new camera/gimbal assembly off eBay.

As Capt KO says, the first and cheapest solution is to try the ribbon cable after you have checked connections. If that doesn’t work then you may be looking at replacing the whole assembly as I had to do unless you want to try replacing part by part until you find the failed part.

Good luck.

Chris
Thanks Chris.....I willl try replacing the ribbon cable and probably the two Ant wires first. Hope that works...buying the camera/gimbal assembly they say is half the cost of the whole Phantom with camera.
 
If you don't mind me asking N4eow, are you really 94 years young, or am I looking at a typo that was meant to read 49? Inquiring minds demand to know because if you really are out flying a drone 6 years shy of a century old, my hat is off to you sir.

Personally, I wish the aging process was optional because I'd gladly trade my drone fleet for a modest decade of deducted time from my total spent thus far since birth. Then again, as Groucho Marks reportedly observed, growing old isn't so bad considering the alternative.
 
If you don't mind me asking N4eow, are you really 94 years young, or am I looking at a typo that was meant to read 49? Inquiring minds demand to know because if you really are out flying a drone 6 years shy of a century old, my hat is off to you sir.

Personally, I wish the aging process was optional because I'd gladly trade my drone fleet for a modest decade of deducted time from my total spent thus far since birth. Then again, as Groucho Marks reportedly observed, growing old isn't so bad considering the alternative.
If you don't mind me asking N4eow, are you really 94 years young, or am I looking at a typo that was meant to read 49? Inquiring minds demand to know because if you really are out flying a drone 6 years shy of a century old, my hat is off to you sir.

Personally, I wish the aging process was optional because I'd gladly trade my drone fleet for a modest decade of deducted time from my total spent thus far since birth. Then again, as Groucho Marks reportedly observed, growing old isn't so bad considering the alternative.
Yes, I am 94....thought I had sent you a reply and a little about my Navy flying but do no see it now. This website is a little hard to navigate for me. Don
 
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N4Eow sir, it is truly inspirational to see this confirmation that your lifestyle remains active aged 94. I'd have followed up with a flurry of questions about diet, exercise, family longevity history, and personal philosophy, but that would all deviate far away from the focus of this discussion topic.

I'll be on the lookout for any reminiscences you decide to share about your Naval aviator days in the off-topic section of this forum, and once again I thank you kindly for taking a moment to respond to my inquiry here.
 
I am new at asking for help so tell me if I am doing this wrong. My Phantom 3 Standard has always flown and responded to all commands flawlessly until this minor crash. The camera will not move when powering drone but shows what it is looking at and takes pictures of same. Yard arm is not broken. Drone lights blink yellow when power on but motors not running; flash green when engines running, shows8 to 10 sattilites, GPS; ready for Takeoff. Flies fine; all controls work; no response to gimble calibration. Set screw between motor and camera tight against flat side of shaft; can gimbal manually by turning gimbal motor with finger. Two ant wires conected and look good and as is the large grey ribbon wre. Any help anyone can give me of where to start trouble shooting and parts likely to need replacing to make gimbal operate as it normally has in the past will be greatly aPPRECIATED. DON. (94 yrs old but still have a little sense!).
I have found that even a gentle "crash" into the bushes can cause grief with these sensitive gimbals. If the drone stayed in the bushes for several minutes, before you were able to shut it off, & the gimbal was forced to stay in any other position besides straight ahead & level, the motors strain to correct the unnatural positions, which cause overheating & possible wire coating melt on the motor lugs inside the motors. This condition can render the gimbal inop. Sometimes it is just one motor that is affected, but can effect all of them. The only way to tell is to completely disassemble the gimbal & take the drums off the motors. This is the first thing I would do if this cam was on my bench for repairs, knowing in advance what caused the malfunction. The ribbon cable could be torn also, so look closely for any tears.
 
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I had my gimbal go limp. It was a gradual process and there was no crash - it just gradually failed. I tried replacing my ribbon cable 3 times (one was an original OEM one without any luck). I ended up buying a whole new camera/gimbal assembly off eBay.

As Capt KO says, the first and cheapest solution is to try the ribbon cable after you have checked connections. If that doesn’t work then you may be looking at replacing the whole assembly as I had to do unless you want to try replacing part by part until you find the failed part.

Good luck.

Chris
Thanks Chris....I keep acknowledging folks comments to help but never see them posted. I appreciate them anyway. Guess I do not know the system.
 
I had my gimbal go limp. It was a gradual process and there was no crash - it just gradually failed. I tried replacing my ribbon cable 3 times (one was an original OEM one without any luck). I ended up buying a whole new camera/gimbal assembly off eBay.

As Capt KO says, the first and cheapest solution is to try the ribbon cable after you have checked connections. If that doesn’t work then you may be looking at replacing the whole assembly as I had to do unless you want to try replacing part by part until you find the failed part.

Good luck.

Chris
Well, I replaced the ribbon cable; no way of telling if it was an OEM cable. Took me a long time reading over and over online instructions, making pictures along the way. Just finished, powered it up and now the gimble goes crazy like moving around while before it would not move at all which might indicate the problem is in the ribbon cable instead of elsewhere. Maybe the replacement was a bad ri bbon cable. Not sure I want to try again without help that is more experienced. The process was pretty intricate especially since I have poor vision in one eye. Anyone recomend a good repair source. I live near Mobile, Al.
 

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